Carpio: Duterte failed to deliver promise of ending corruption

President Rodrigo Duterte's advice to his successor to declare martial law to stamp out corruption was an admission that he failed to deliver on his campaign promise, retired Supreme Court Justice Antonio Carpio said Wednesday.

“I think that was not what he promised to the Filipino people. It’s an admission of total failure,” Carpio said at an online press conference of opposition coalition 1Sambayan.

Carpio said government corruption is not a justification to place the country under martial rule.

Under the 1987 Constitution, a president can only declare martial law in case of an invasion or rebellion, when the public safety requires it.

“We have the Ombudsman, we have the Department of Justice to go after  corrupt people in the government,” said Carpio, one of the conveners of 1Sambayan, a new political coalition.

In his final State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, Duterte admitted that corruption is “endemic in government.”

“Nobody can stop corruption unless you overturn the government completely,” he said.

“If I were the next president, if you think there's really a need for you to change everybody in the system, then you declare martial law and fire everybody and allow the new generation to come in to work for the government.”

Malacañang, however, clarified on Tuesday that Duterte made these remarks out of frustration and should not be taken literally. —LBG, GMA News